:D/ S! E! C! S! E! C! S! E! C! :D/
@wis75 : I can’t tell if you are simply a poor Googler, or a sly goading Badger, but: http://www.moesportshops.com/
Never heard of the sportswear MOE. What does MOE stand for? Looking at the website it appears to be a single location in Ann Arbor- no wonder it doesn’t show up on my searches. btw- people in Wisconsin don’t tend to think about Michigan- perhaps because getting to lower Michigan involves going around the lake through the UP or Chicago. Just as lower Michigan people likely don’t think about Wisconsin for the same reason- a big lake in between. Yoopers, however, come down for big city amenities such as shopping and medical care.
Holy cow I thought I was the only one!!! I love when I find kindred spirits on CC. Watching my son in his college search - it has occurred to me how off track I was. 
But still, I don’t regret it at all. Just think I might have been better served as a student elsewhere.
Loved law school, but still no great affinity for the university itself.
And I can attest to the passion of VT alums - a family member is one.
I live in the northeast and see people wearing Harvard shirts all the time. I see what you mean, why many would not, but in the northeast, people are pretty status conscious.
I went to Boston University, and despite being a transfer student, have fond memories, go to hockey games
once every few years and stay in touch with my closest friends from decades ago. Funny I did have friends
at other colleges, MIT, Northeastern and Harvard included. I don’t think there was much school spirit at any
of these schools, but I enjoyed my time in Boston/Cambridge area.
I did have one friend at Harvard, someone from the midwest, who loved to make fun of the
reputation to avoid mention of Harvard. Most common question for young persons in Boston is
to ask where you attend/attended. His answer was always “Harvard, have you heard of it ?”
with a fake upper class Brit accent (and a big smile). Not sure if he really resented anything
or just having a good time.
I see the value in sports, that was most definitely part of the ongoing connection.
At MIT they studied all the time, can’t see how they would cherish that experience years later 
I am sure there are those that did !
I think Moe was a person, not a brand.
Echoing that sentiment…
I loved my school while I was there, and I enjoy visiting once in a while, but I don’t feel a huge attachment. Right now I feel much more attached to my kids schools and have all the t-shirts and sweatshirts (and username!) to prove it!
Best place in Ann Arbor to buy your swag. What does Moes have to do with food?
Moes is where I bought my favorite Harvard shirt. It says Harvard, the Michigan of the East. So even if the Harvard grads can’t wear their school gear, rest easy that there are a lot of people in Ann Arbor repping the cause.
@gluttonforstress: My staff bought me that tee-shirt before I left for HBS in the late eighties. I wore it proudly. My section mates thought it was great, too.
I didn’t know there was any problem wearing a Harvard or Yale shirt. When I see someone wearing an Oxford or Cambridge shirt it’s because they have been to the UK on vacation. No-one really wears college stuff here. There is no equivalent of US college sports (apart from the boat race, but that occupies about 20 minutes of time once a year). Oxbridge colleges do have their wool scarves though. That’s the thing actual students really wear, and no-one notices or cares.
I went to a small conservative liberal arts school; I thought about transferring, but decided to stick it out. I commuted, so I didn’t have to deal with a lot of the rules (except required chapel services). The professors in my major were fairly moderate, so that wasn’t a problem. I don’t think I was in a place then that would have allowed me to enjoy any college. I would not give them any money, since I don’t agree with indoctrination from either end of the political/religious spectrum. Grad school I didn’t mind as much, since it was a requirement for the career I wanted. I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it, but I didn’t mind it either. I have donated to my grad school a few times.
I absolutely LOVE my alma mater - Temple University! I hold a Bachelor’s, Master’s and Law degree from TU and would go back again if I could. My oldest D is there now and loves the school as well but for completely different reasons. I am a huge sports fan and we made the Elite Eight twice while I attended. I was part of the Honors program and loved the professors and students. She loves the city vibe, the expanse of clubs to join and really appreciates her advisors. I am a football season ticket holder, go to as many BB games as possible, donate back to the school and volunteer at various events. Go Owls!
Even though I have mixed feelings about alma mater, it has a beautiful campus and a great bunch of webcams, so I take a look at the campus a couple times per week. Don’t know why more colleges don’t have webcams…besides tv sports, they are best way to feel connected to a school.without spending $.
I have great fondness for my freshman dorm, for the enduring friendships I formed, and for the professors who mentored me. The place itself, not so much. Perhaps because I’ve never been into sports. I also worked to pay my living expenses and moved off campus in my sophomore year, so I was not as connected to campus life as if I had a more residential experience.
I hope that my D17 lives on campus for at least two years to more fully experience student life.
Interesting that not being into sports can be important on some campuses. UW was big enough for plenty of “who cares” non sports fans to find plenty to do and even when teams in a major sport did not fare well there are still many reasons to love it for alumni.
Regarding giving to colleges as a measure of loyalty or affection, I donate a fairly decent amount (>$1k) every year to my undergraduate institution (Reed). But I am not thinking about any kind of charitable trust or large donation.
I give a smaller amount to my graduate university (UWis). My wife attended there as an undergraduate as well as a graduate. We both “love” UWis and the city of Madison and have even considered moving close-by in retirement.
We also donate to the undergraduate colleges attended by our children, including in one case to a special memorial scholarship. Those are both special places and a little grand-alum support gives us a sense of satisfaction.
Don’t have an alma mater but my kiddos do and they did love/still do their experiences both undergrad/grad school. The family is split with a NCSU/UNC house! And boy is it loud, especially with March coming up. They picked schools with strong alum loyalty, Carolina, NCSU (STATE!), Annapolis (US Naval Academy), NC A&T (homecoming is amazing) and princeton (son has not missed a Reunion yet, even with 3rd and 4th year med school rotations!).
They do donate and I send a small amount every year, being so thankful each school provided them with great educations and a way to financially afford to do so when I could not.
Kat
No. I really enjoyed my time at Indiana University, but - meh. (shrugs)
Idk why i feel so lukewarm about it - I met some of my best and lifelong friends there.
And I did love what I majored in, and I would do it all over again.
And the campus really is beautiful.
Maybe it’s the over-emphasis on basketball, which I found silly, or that it’s too close to my hometown…
I do think it can be an underrated university for humanities.
But I wasn’t heartbroken when my own child didn’t care for it on a visit… mainly because I don’t think she would have liked it there as much as the other, smaller state school in Indiana she preferred and applied to.
No love for Michigan, my alma mater, and the alma mater of my spouse. My emotion is closer to resentment.
When these daughters were little, they wore Maize & Blue and were forced to listen to me explain again and again how Michigan used to beat Ohio State. However, once I started researching colleges a few years ago for DD1, I was floored to learn how much Michigan now charges for OOS students (We’re OOS). Ran the numbers, and realized that we could not afford to send either daughter there even after 18 years of saving for each, on a good middle class salary but one that won’t get any financial aid. I told DD1 she couldn’t even apply, why bother.
So I broke up with Michigan, chucked out the flag, don’t watch their football team anymore, alumni magazine goes in the trash, etc. I don’t regret my break up at all, they brought this on themselves by adopting a business model that may be what they need to do to work with their state government and stay afloat, but which has certainly turned off two of its alums.